


Unlikely Allies

by meridian_rose (meridianrose)



Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Uneasy Allies, Zo is a potty mouth, look at that I hurt Leo for once, subtextual relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6116512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridianrose/pseuds/meridian_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Leo falls victim to one of his own experiments, Zo forms an uneasy alliance with Riario.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unlikely Allies

**Author's Note:**

> For the Trope Bingo prompt language/translation and the [fic meme](http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/139780741901/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-number-and-ill-write-you#notes) prompt #44 “If you die, I’m gonna kill you.”

"If you die, I'm gonna kill you," Zo said, blinking hard. "Fuck, Leo. Now I'm making less sense than you. Fuck."

A cat could not have moved more quietly but Zo's instincts were honed by years of needing to make a quick getaway and he was on his feet and turning to face Riario before the count could take more than two steps inside the studio.

"What the fuck do you want?" Zo demanded, keeping himself between Leo and the intruder.

Riario stood motionless, expression unreadable. "I came to see Leonardo."

Zo swallowed. "He's not accepting visitors," he said, a half-truth.

Riario's expression softened. "That is why I'm here."

"You know what happened?" Realisation dawned. "You're fucking spying on us? On Leo?" 

Zo took several threatening steps forward. Riario still didn’t move.

"Of course I have people watching him," Riario said. "I cannot be everywhere, and Leonardo does tend to get into mischief quite often. Do not be concerned. I do not extend the same courtesy to you."

Zo couldn't work out the meaning behind the words because Riario was so clever at saying one thing when he meant another, but Leo would understand, and he hated the both of them sometimes. What he did know was that he shouldn't feel slighted by something that was no courtesy at all, yet to be beneath Riario's notice rankled him.

"I'm lacking the details," Riario went on, staring past Zo now, seeking Leo's unconscious form. "What precisely happened?"

Zo's immediate response was to tell him to fuck off, but to be honest he was tired of being alone, of keeping this vigil without Nico or Vanessa – away on diplomatic business, and fuck politics – to help him, or keep him company.

"He's always experimenting with poisons," Zo said. "Sometimes he'd test them on Nico."

Riario gave him a look. "How unfortunate for young Nico."

"Yeah, but Leo was always there to fix whatever he'd done. And it was always just a small dose."

"Quite," Riario said, clearly unconvinced.

Zo folded his arms, feeling the need to defend Leo, even given the current circumstances. "He's a genius. Experimenting is how he figures things out."

"Until he cannot."

Zo nodded. "I don't know if he gave himself too large a dose, or if he's mixed something dreadful that he can't recover from, or what's gone wrong. He said we'd go to the tavern tonight. He was supposed to be fine by now."

If Riario heard the tremble in that last sentence, he chose to ignore it, to Zo's relief. When Riario spoke next, he chose his words with care. "Surely there is a physician you trust?"

"No." Zo shook his head. "Don't get any ideas about bringing Roman leeches here."

Riario sighed. "Then we must see what we can do."

"We?"

But Riario was already moving past Zo. He knelt on the floor by the bed without a scrap of concern for his dark clothing, taking one of Leo's hands in his.

"Your mind is unique and precious, artista," he said, "but it is housed in a mortal body no stronger than any other man's. You should not take such risks."

Zo glared at Riario's back, irritated that he agreed with Riario, and angry – jealous? – that Riario had taken his place, even temporarily, at Leo's side.

Riario stood at last. "What was he working on?"

Zo showed him the cluttered desk, the litter of papers, the myriad bowls and bottles and jars that Leo had been using. Riario sat at the desk and began to read.

A couple of hours later Riario brought Zo a mug of wine and they sat in uneasy silence, nursing their drinks.

"Some of his work is in mirror writing, which I can read with effort," Riario said finally. "Some in code I think I understand, others in a complex code I cannot hope to break. The rest is…haphazard. Understandable, but sometimes confusing. He begins one subject and then switches to another."

Zo nodded. "That's Leo all over. Keeps getting distracted by new ideas."

"You think this is how this happened? He became distracted?"

"I honestly don't know."

Riario tapped one finger against his mug, his ring sounding against the metal. "There's mention of a charcoal-based tonic Leonardo thought could work against a variety of poisons. I've been trying to find all the other ingredients he intended to go with it, and I've translated enough of the papers to gather that much, and pieced together his ramblings to uncover five specific components. But I still don't know precisely what all of them are – my botanical knowledge appears to be lacking."

Zo drained his mug. "Show me," he said. "Even if I don't know what they are, Leo might have a bottle or something labelled correctly."

Riario stood. "Very well. And I shall continue to search the papers for further instructions."

#

It was a disturbing realisation for Zo, as he stirred the tonic clockwise as per Leo's notes while Riario sprinkled the orris root powder into the pot, that he and Riario made a good team.

It was dark before the tonic proved effective and a bleary eyed Leo barely had the decency to be grateful for their assistance nor to be sorry for all the worry he'd put them through; he insisted he'd prepared an antidote himself for this eventuality and it was clearly marked and sitting on the table.

On further inspection there was an unmarked bottle near the fireplace and what kind of place was that to put something, and fuck, Leo, label everything not just some of things.

It was Riario who caught hold of Zo's arm before he could punch Leo in his stupid face, though Zo didn’t miss that his own cheek twitched in barely controlled rage.

It was another disturbing realisation that Zo and Riario were to be on the same side for the foreseeable future, for Riario whispered, so softly Zo almost thought he'd imagined it, "Not while he's weak and nothing so crude. We can punish him far more effectively later." And Zo thought that sounded like a good idea.


End file.
